Abstract:

Drawing on the new turn to practices in contemporary social theory as a lens, we explore micro-stories as recounted by newcomer non-EU migrant care workers (MCWs) to examine how they cope with and confront the relative precarity they experience in the workplace. We argue that efforts by these MCWs to address their situated precarity often compel them to be morally disengaged in practice. Focusing on the role played by individual cognition and moral motivation, we elucidate three dynamically interacting prototypical practices enacted by MCWs, specifically, delivering sub-standard care, infraction-in-engagement, and ‘seeing and speaking no evil’. This provides the context for these relatively powerless employees to rebalance their relationship with their organisations, thereby addressing a more pressing dysfunction within the UK Skilled Worker visa scheme and the domiciliary care sector in general. Our study contributes to the surging interest in situated precarity and enduring inequalities within markets and society at large, while providing new insights into migrants’ decision choices within the contingencies of being on a Skilled Worker visa in low paid, unsecured employment.

Please choose your submission type: Full Paper

Primary Track: Organisational Psychology

Keywords: Employee Attitudes and Motivations   ;Emotional Intelligence and Its Implications for the Workplace    ;Organizational Misbehaviour    ;Evolutionary psychology and organisations    ;Interpersonal and organisational trust   

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Miss Noma Mguni